Yaniv’s Studio Again Turns to Guitar Center Pro

Yaniv Farber, seated in Yaniv’s Studio – a facility outfitted from top to bottom by GC Pro.

— Loyal GC Pro customer acquires AMS Neve Genesys G32 console —
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, January 19, 2016 — Woodland Hills, California-based recording facility Yaniv’s Studio is the dream project of Yaniv Farber, also known as the longtime proprietor of Sandy Ceramic and Stone, Inc., a high-end tile, granite and marble installer in southern California. In the decades spent building up Sandy Ceramic and Stone, Farber was diligently recording in a home space, and the time was right a few years ago to take the plunge and create a state-of-the-art studio space. And it was outfitted from top to bottom with equipment sourced through Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the business-to-business (B2B) division of Guitar Center providing highly customized service for professional accounts. The studio features a great collection of microphones, preamps and outboard gear, and recently Farber made another big leap: he upgraded his studio by acquiring an AMS Neve Genesys G32 console, featuring 32 inputs, 16 Neve 1073 mic pre’s, eight 88R EQ’s, eight 1084 EQ’s and 16 VCA compressors – and again he turned to GC Pro for the consultation, gear and support.

The Genesys joins the existing products purchased for the studio by Farber through GC Pro in the last few years: an Avid Pro Tools HDX system, Apogee Symphony I/O converters, Focal SM9 monitors and a wide microphone and outboard collection from Manley, Universal Audio, Tube Tech, Lexicon, Bricasti, API, SSL, AKG, Neumann, Blue, Royer and Telefunken to name a few.

“We can do live sessions here, and it’s a great-sounding room to record in, so I am doing a lot of tracking of trios and smaller groups, all the way up to very large bands or sometimes just a vocal session,” stated Farber. “As work picked up, it was clear to me that the time was right to move to a more powerful console. I called up Ziv [Gross, GC Pro Account Manager], and we explored a few options. After testing out some different products, the Neve Genesys was the clear solution for what I needed.”

Farber has been able to streamline his workflow with the new console: “With the Genesys, I got it pre-loaded with EQs and compressors – as a result, the audio doesn’t route around to different components as much as it used to, so there is more integrity of sound, and more headroom overall. It gives me a stronger ability to really tweak the sound, and it makes recording and capturing audio a real pleasure. Also, I really appreciate the recall ability when mix time comes around. I’m pleased with every aspect of it. And when a client steps in the room, the Genesys sends a very strong message that they are in a truly professional facility with someone who takes his work – and their music – very seriously.”

Farber expands on his affection and respect for GC Pro: “I cannot express how appreciative I am to the fact that Ziv is only one phone call away, and basically every time I needed anything, he just finds the time to basically show up and walk me through any issue! Ziv is my man, and the others at GC Pro I have dealt with are great too. Working with GC Pro continues to be a very positive experience.”

For more information, please visit www.gcpro.com.

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About Guitar Center Professional/Guitar Center
Guitar Center Professional is the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users. Its clientele includes recording studios, audio engineers, producers, recording and touring musicians, live sound venues, post production facilities and more. Emphasizing extraordinary individualized service via local account managers, GC Pro offers expert consultation and a comprehensive selection of the world’s finest equipment for music and audio professionals. More information on GC Pro can be found by visiting www.gcpro.com.

University of Chicago Lab Schools Turns to GC Pro

The University of Chicago Laboratory Schools Digital Music Lab, featuring gear sourced through Guitar Center Professional. Photo courtesy of Francisco Dean. © 2015.

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, December 7, 2015 — Francisco Dean is a music instructor at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, a pre-K-through-12 private school affiliated with the U of C that is considered one of the top preparatory schools in the U.S. He’s also a long-time client of Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the business-to-business (B2B) division of Guitar Center providing highly customized service for professional accounts; about two years ago, a trip to the nearby Hobart, Indiana Guitar Center location resulted in the store’s equipping the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools’ brand new Digital Music Lab with most of its gear – more than 100 items of equipment in all.

“About two years ago I needed a small MIDI controller and went to [GC Pro Account Manager] Ryan Nigh for assistance,” said Dean. “I got to talking to him, and when I told him I taught music technology to high school music students and was looking for gear for our not-yet-built Digital Music Lab, Ryan told me about GC Pro’s educational program. I knew then that it was just what we needed. The timing was perfect, as I was working on the school’s syllabus for the upcoming year and the planning for the lab.”

GC Pro works directly with people like Dean and offers special educational discounts. In addition, students can get the benefits of the GC Pro program, such as discounts and free shipping from their local store no matter where they live.

The U of C Laboratory Schools’ Digital Music Lab features 16 independent workstations where students can compose and record music. The workstations are equipped with AKAI Professional MPK249 Performance Keyboard Controllers, AKAI APC Mini Compact Ableton Live Controllers, Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 USB audio interfaces and more. Each workstation is linked to a central USB hub and their computers are linked to the Lab’s local area network via Ethernet. If desired, a single workstation can be moved to another location for remote recording.

Since live recording is a key focus of the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools’ music program, GC Pro supplied a variety of dynamic and condenser mics from Sennheiser, Rode, AKG, Shure, SE Electronics and Electro Voice. “Our students learn how to mic and record everything from vocals to brass, woodwinds and percussion, so we needed to build a mic locker that would include mics for all applications,” said Dean. A selection of Sennheiser headphones, KRK Rokit powered studio monitors, cables and other gear rounds out the Digital Music Lab’s equipment complement.

“We were building the lab from scratch and had never done anything on this scale before,” noted Dean. “Ryan Nigh was invaluable in giving us the advice we needed regarding which products would be the best for our needs, and offering the tech support we needed to make everything work together. Usually I would just tell him what we needed in terms of what the products had to do, and Ryan would make recommendations based on which products would best serve our requirements.”

“In working with Ryan, I had the peace of mind that I was getting unbiased recommendations, not a sales pitch that would be forgotten the minute I walked out of the store. Because he’s in the field making recordings and doing mixing on his own, Ryan knows how equipment works in the real world.” Since the Digital Music Lab went into operation, everything has been working without a hitch.

Dean likes to stop by his local Guitar Center frequently for the music supplies he requires for his classes – and because like most of us, he’s an inveterate gearhead. “Having Ryan around is like having my own personal tech support assistant. Ryan and GC Pro really made it as easy as possible for us to set up the Digital Music Lab in providing their expert assistance on this project.”

For more information, please visit www.gcpro.com.

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About Guitar Center Professional/Guitar Center
Guitar Center Professional is the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users. Its clientele includes recording studios, audio engineers, producers, recording and touring musicians, live sound venues, post production facilities and more. Emphasizing extraordinary individualized service via local account managers, GC Pro offers expert consultation and a comprehensive selection of the world’s finest equipment for music and audio professionals. More information on GC Pro can be found by visiting www.gcpro.com.

GC Pro Helps Burt Assembly of God After Devastating Fire

— GC Pro personnel in San Diego and Detroit teamed up to source a new sound system for the International Outreach & Training Center, an integral part of this house of worship in Burt, Michigan, and to act as the interface for the church with its insurance company’s claims adjuster —
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, November 30, 2015 — When the Burt Assembly of God Church’s International Outreach & Training Center was heavily damaged by fire in 2014, the facility, located in Burt, Michigan, faced a devastating loss that also included the center’s music and sound systems. However, the loss was remedied, thanks to the national reach offered by Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the business-to-business (B2B) division of Guitar Center providing highly customized service for professional accounts.

GC Pro teams in San Diego, California, and Detroit, Michigan, acted as the interface between the church, still reeling from its loss, and the church’s insurance adjuster, assuring that the systems that needed to be replaced would benefit from the newest technologies and products. GC Pro analyzed the International Outreach & Training Center’s needs and specified a wide range of M.I. and pro audio systems and products, all of which were sourced through GC Pro’s massive inventory. These included a JBL PRX PA system powered by Crown amplifiers and mixed through a Soundcraft Si Expression 2 digital FOH console; Shure wired and wireless microphone systems; Pearl, DW and Zildjian percussion items; and other pro audio and M.I. products. The items were specified by the GC Pro San Diego office, which has had extensive experience dealing with insurance companies and adjustors and was able to help guide the church and the center through the difficult and often-confusing claims process. The eyes on the ground assessing the situation, and later the project manager for the installation of these products and systems, was the GC Pro Detroit office, which called upon HD2 Sound, a member of the GC Pro Affiliates Program, to handle the systems installation and integration.
 
“We worked closely with the church and with their insurance company’s claims adjustment service to determine what they lost, the value of that and the replacement values, as well as what the best replacement products and systems would be,” explains Kevin Hewitt, Account Manager at the GC Pro office in San Diego. “We also worked closely with our office in Detroit, the closest one on the ground to the church. Together, we were able to efficiently and effectively assess the situation and decide what would get them back on their feet.”
 
As Hewitt handled the logistics of the project, Paul Johnson, Account Manager at GC Pro’s Detroit location, handled system design, driving two hours each way to the work site, often several days a week. “When I got there, the building was a total loss,” he recalls. “I became the on-site project manager for the audio systems, measuring during the reconstruction process and letting Kevin know what the dimensions would be. We established timelines for deliveries and installation, coordinating between the insurance company, our vendors, our integrator, the construction crews at the site, and the church and center leaders. It was a huge undertaking, but the church was very excited to see that we could manage their project on a national basis.”

The church leaders quickly realized that GC Pro brings an enormous amount of power — in the form of resources and expertise, as well as our experience with loss claims — to a project. Especially for one like this, where they had suffered such a massive loss, GC Pro was the only provider that could manage this effectively from beginning to end. “Today, the church and the center are back,” says Johnson, “and it was gratifying for all of us at GC Pro to have played such an important role in that.”

For more information, please visit www.gcpro.com.

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About Guitar Center Professional/Guitar Center
Guitar Center Professional is the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users. Its clientele includes recording studios, audio engineers, producers, recording and touring musicians, live sound venues, post production facilities and more. Emphasizing extraordinary individualized service via local account managers, GC Pro offers expert consultation and a comprehensive selection of the world’s finest equipment for music and audio professionals. More information on GC Pro can be found by visiting www.gcpro.com.

Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship Takes Control of Its Sound

The main worship space at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship, featuring an extensive arsenal of sound, video and lighting components sourced through GC Pro and installed through GC Pro’s Affiliate Program by affiliates Crown Audio Video and Trinity Group International.

— In addition to sourcing a wide array of audio, video and lighting components for an extensive upgrade to the Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship’s facility, GC Pro’s Affiliates Program connected the church with two highly specialized systems integrators for AVL and system control —
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, November 25, 2015 — Dr. Tony Evans understands the need to make the message clear. He’s the pastor of the 10,000-member Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship (OCBF) church in Dallas, Texas, which he founded with wife and ministry partner Dr. Lois Evans in 1976, as well as president of The Urban Alternative radio broadcast that can be heard over 1,000 outlets daily throughout the U.S. and in over 100 countries worldwide. So when the OCBF needed more sound, video and lighting earlier this year, the church turned to Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the business-to-business (B2B) division of Guitar Center providing highly customized service for professional accounts, to both select and source the right components and to match the best systems integrators for the AVL and control systems.

The project was substantial, says Jeff McDaniel, Account Manager based at the GC Pro location in Dallas. “This is a large facility building, across from the church’s main campus, that houses their activities areas, such as their youth centers,” he says. “They needed a lot of additional audio, including a lot of speakers and DSP processing, as well as new video displays and new lighting. But they also wanted to add more sophisticated control over the AVL systems, to enable a wider number of users to access and configure the systems as needed more easily. That called for a Crestron control system. Installing audio, video and lighting requires one set of specialized skills, and programming a complex control system requires a different set of skills. So we matched Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship with two different Affiliate Program member integrators for this project.”

Crown Audio Video was assigned to the Crestron programming tasks while Trinity Group International took on the job of installing new audio, video and lighting. The latter aspect of the project included over a dozen ceiling-mount QSC speakers, including in-ceiling subwoofers, with QSC processing and amplification for the main activities hall; Community Sound all-weather speakers for outdoor use; an LG 47-inch LCD display and a Blackmagic Design HDMI SDI-to-HDMI conversion unit for one of the building’s youth centers and a Sennheiser wireless microphone system for a second youth center on another floor. Chauvet LED lighting components were also added to several areas. All of these were sourced through GC Pro.

Walter Jones, Media Director at the Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship.

“It was a pretty sizable project,” observes Walter Jones, Media Director at the Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship. “The main entrance area is huge at about 30 feet wide and about 300 feet long, and it serves as the main artery that leads to the other areas of the building. We wanted to have a zoned sound system in that area to support live events, background music and announcements. The video screen is now used as confidence monitor for those using our ProPresenter software. We also added LED lighting to the stage and some additional acoustical material in the second floor youth room. A major part of the project was the activation of our Crestron control system. Our first floor youth room is loaded with high-tech AVL systems. We really needed an easy way for our not technical staff and volunteers to be able to access and control those systems. I knew the programming would be intensive, but it had to be done right.”

And it was, thanks to GC Pro’s extensive inventory of technology products and its wide range of integration partners through the Affiliates Program, which allowed them to allocate the right resources and expertise to each aspect of the project. “Anyone who needs to use any of the spaces can access the audio, video and lighting from the Crestron control panels on the wall,” says Jones. “Working with Jeff was great on this project, and the choices of Crown Audio Video and Trinity Group International met our installation needs. We had a vision of what we needed to achieve here, and Jeff and GC Pro had the resources to pull that all together and make it happen. It all worked out exactly the way it was supposed to.”

For more information, please visit www.gcpro.com.

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About Guitar Center Professional/Guitar Center
Guitar Center Professional is the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users. Its clientele includes recording studios, audio engineers, producers, recording and touring musicians, live sound venues, post production facilities and more. Emphasizing extraordinary individualized service via local account managers, GC Pro offers expert consultation and a comprehensive selection of the world’s finest equipment for music and audio professionals. More information on GC Pro can be found by visiting www.gcpro.com.

Seacrets: King of the Virtual Beach

Seacrets, a nightclub, bar, restaurant and concert venue located in Ocean City, MD, recently upgraded with audio and lighting systems sourced through Guitar Center Professional. Photos courtesy of Jason Cruz/Seacrets. © 2015.

— Sprawling Ocean City, Maryland entertainment venue Seacrets renovated their music stages over the winter in preparation for a big summer, and GC Pro was their go-to source for audio, video and lighting —
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, October 20, 2015 — Seacrets is a nightclub, bar, restaurant and concert venue located in Ocean City, MD, beside the Isle of Wight Bay. Opened as a “locals only” bar in 1988, it has since grown exponentially, now consisting of 16 bars, four performance areas, a clothing boutique, and an FM/Internet radio station located on the property, all with its “Jamaica USA” theme still intact. And the aesthetics of the place match that: live reggae DJs start at 10 a.m. every day, the restaurant features plenty of jerk chicken, and every year dozens of palm trees are planted and maintained for the summer season. In fact, summer is Seacrets’ biggest season, running each year from St. Patrick’s Day through Halloween, and this year’s summer sounded and looked better than ever, thanks to audio and lighting systems sourced through Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the business-to-business (B2B) division of Guitar Center providing highly customized service for professional accounts.

Using GC Pro’s extensive inventory and resources, AV Manager Jason Cruz was able to acquire all new systems for the Beach, Old Main Bar and Pier stages. These include a 64-channel Soundcraft Si Performer digital console, four new Crown XTI 6000 series amplifiers to beef up the existing PA systems, JBL Control series in-ceiling speakers and ASB subwoofers to extend the reach and range of the music, a Shure ULXS wireless microphone system and wireless PSM in-ear monitors, dbx® DriveRack DSP, Chauvet Rogue spotlight, Elation moving-head fixtures and American DJ Vortex moving washes. It’s a long list, and only GC Pro was able to provide a one-stop source for all of it.

“I have to replace some products and systems fairly often because the sand gets in there and it’s brutal on some pieces of gear,” says Cruz, who started at Seacrets in 2009 as a DJ and now supervises the AVL for the entire operation, even as he keeps his hand in spinning records at times. “Having GC Pro as a partner is a necessity, to be able to get what we need, when we need it, at a good price.” But GC Pro is more than that for Seacrets and Cruz. “I totally trust Mitch to let me know what the best product and system choices would be for any of the venues,” he adds, referring to GC Pro Account Manager Mitch Shaivitz at GC Pro's Baltimore-area office. “As the AV Manager, I’m expected to know everything about everything, and that’s impossible, so I rely on Mitch to fill in my knowledge gaps.”

Seacrets, a nightclub, bar, restaurant and concert venue located in Ocean City, MD, recently upgraded with audio and lighting systems sourced through Guitar Center Professional. Visible are JBL Control series in-ceiling speakers. Photos courtesy of Jason Cruz/Seacrets. © 2015.

One example of how GC Pro made a difference instead of just a sale is Shaivitz’s recommendation of the Shure in-ear monitors to replace stage wedges at the Beach stage. That not only eliminated another piece of equipment that would be exposed to the wear and tear of sand but also helped bands keep their stage volume in check, keeping the sound inside the venue and away from neighboring houses. “He also helped us make the transition to LED lighting, which resists sand better than conventional lights,” he says. Seacrets’ next season will also see a trip to GC Pro over the winter for new Crown amplifiers for the main concert hall. “GC Pro has made my life easier and Seacrets’ experience better,” says Cruz. “It would be hard to be this good without them.”

For more information, please visit www.gcpro.com.

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About Guitar Center Professional/Guitar Center
Guitar Center Professional is the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users. Its clientele includes recording studios, audio engineers, producers, recording and touring musicians, live sound venues, post production facilities and more. Emphasizing extraordinary individualized service via local account managers, GC Pro offers expert consultation and a comprehensive selection of the world’s finest equipment for music and audio professionals. More information on GC Pro can be found by visiting www.gcpro.com.

Free AES Passes from Guitar Center Professional

Coming up at the end of October at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City, the 139th Audio Engineering Society (AES) convention is the best place to learn about the newest audio technologies, see the latest offerings from the world¹s finest pro audio manufacturers, and network with fellow members of the audio recording and live sound industry.

Guitar Center Professional is happy to offer you a FREE Exhibits-Plus badge that will allow you to see the entire exhibition plus all Special Events, the Project Studio Expo and the Live Sound Expo at AES.

Click here get your free AES Show Exhibits-Plus badge now.

Heroes Camp Recovers from Devastating Windstorm Damage

One of the basketball court spaces at Heroes Camp in Mishawaka, Indiana, featuring gear sourced through Guitar Center Professional.

— Faith-based sports ministry suffers massive damage as a result of a severe windstorm, and GC Pro and its AV integration affiliate Accutronics step up and stay with the organization through 15 grueling months of rebuilding, culminating in a joyful reopening in September —
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, October 6, 2015 — The winds came on the night of July 1, 2014, and what they left in their wake was devastating. Heroes Camp, a sports ministry in Mishawaka, Indiana, that for 26 years has provided guidance and activities for area youth with its three basketball courts, a kitchen, locker rooms, a recording studio, and even a barbershop, had its ceilings torn down and its floors flooded. Over the next 15 months, Heroes Camp battled back, culminating in a grand reopening on September 12. Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the business-to-business (B2B) division of Guitar Center providing highly customized service for professional accounts, along with its Affiliates Program partner Accutronics LLC, was happy to be part of that miraculous comeback.

GC Pro sourced a wide variety of audio, video and lighting products and systems, including a QSC PA system, Da-Lite projection equipment, Shure and Sennheiser microphones, Atlona video products, Rapco cabling and Mid Atlantic racking. Many of these products were delivered through the Mishawaka Guitar Center store, which had long been a supplier for Heroes Camp’s MI needs, and they were installed and integrated by Accutronics.

Ryan Nigh, GC Pro Account Manager, remembers that he, Accutronics Owner Mike Love and Heroes Camp Executive Director Patrick “P.J.” Perri were just about finished with the paperwork for some upgrades to Heroes Camp’s existing systems along with some new products when the winds struck overnight. The next morning revealed the extent of the damage. What had been a relatively small upgrade project now turned into a recovery and rebuilding task, with substantial support from the community that Heroes Camp had been part of for a quarter of a century. “PJ had sent me a video of the damage and it was terrible,” Nigh recalls. “We all got together and determined what could be salvaged and what needed to be replaced. We were putting together a plan that would get them back to where they had been before the storm and then some, as cost-effectively as possible, because throughout the entire time they were also battling with insurance companies.” Nigh credits Toby Klingler, Manager of the Mishawaka Guitar Center store, for giving local store support, and logistics coordinator Jon Newby, for handling all of the special orders and shipping. “Everyone gave a hundred percent to get Heroes Camp back on its feet,” he says.

The recording studio space at Heroes Camp in Mishawaka, Indiana, featuring gear sourced through Guitar Center Professional.

PJ Perri concurs, citing GC Pro’s experience dealing with insurance issues. “They understood the critical difference between contents and structure,” he explains; how, for instance, a speaker on the floor can be considered in the contents category but once it’s hung from a wall or a truss it becomes part of a building’s structure — a critical distinction to an insurance adjustor eyeing liability limits. “I was very impressed with the knowledge and insight they were able to bring about insurance matters. That was very helpful.” And Perri was also happy with GC Pro’s choice of integrator, noting how Accutronics’ Mike Love was able to make the facility’s recording studio look better than ever. “It looks as good as it sounds,” says Perri. “He hid the wiring very artfully and everyone who comes in comments on the sleekness of the studio. Everyone involved was just awesome.”

“I was happy to help,” says Ryan Nigh. “GC Pro has been around a long time and we’ve accumulated a lot of experience – not just in professional AV but in everything connected with it,” he says. “But it was especially gratifying to see Heroes Camp come back, and see how the community and companies like Nike, Foot Locker and even the Chicago Bulls come together to help, because this was all for a much greater cause. We were glad to be part of that.”

For more information, please visit www.gcpro.com.

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About Guitar Center Professional/Guitar Center
Guitar Center Professional is the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users. Its clientele includes recording studios, audio engineers, producers, recording and touring musicians, live sound venues, post production facilities and more. Emphasizing extraordinary individualized service via local account managers, GC Pro offers expert consultation and a comprehensive selection of the world’s finest equipment for music and audio professionals. More information on GC Pro can be found by visiting www.gcpro.com.